Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Let's Talk Movies!: Edge of Tomorrow



As usual, i'll make this as spoiler-free as possible. I will also try not to compare the movie to the manga/light novel it was adapted from, "All You Need Is Kill". But if you haven't read that one then I suggest you do because it's a good read and frankly, we all need a good read nowadays.

I first heard about this movie when I was browsing about news from SDCC (San Diego Comic Con) 2013. There was a panel and a first look for the movie and there were posters. I must admit the posters looked very cool. It was Tom, some guy in an exo suit and Emily. I didn't know that the movie was based on a manga until a few weeks ago. I have even read the FCBD (Free Comic Book Day) comic of All You Need Is Kill (with Terra Formars) when you flipped it) and it still hasn't dawned on me. So with that revelation I rewatched the official trailer and it looked more enticing to watch. I have also read both the light novel and the manga and they were awesome too.

~
The SDCC 2013 Posters

The Story:

Earth is at war. Aliens called "Mimics" have invaded the planet and it seemed like Humanity is fighting a lost cause. But with the creation of combat exo suits they call "Jackets", it seems that Humanity now has a chance. Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) is all over the news telling people about the war and how we are able to defeat these Mimics. He also tells war stories and in particular about a soldier named Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), who has become face of the war due to her success at the Battle of Verdun.

Unfortunately for Cage, he is sent from his comfy chair to the frontlines just before the big attack called Operation: Downfall. He was very hesitant about this since he doesn't have any combat expertise and experience. He tries to blackmail his way out of it which in turn gets him arrested and brands him as a deserter. So he gets shipped off to the FOB (Forward Operating Base) and is introduced to J-squad.

The day of the attack and Cage is a fish out of water. Utter chaos and death was all around. He rejoins J-squad but is then ambushed by Mimics. He meets his demise when he encounters and kills a really weird and big Mimic. But to his surprise, he wakes up on the same place at the same spot at the FOB.

From there he tries to go day-to-day trying to survive and find a way to end the war and the loop.

~

It's called a TIME LOOP and not necessarily TIME TRAVEL....and my views on the movie, actors, effects and whatnot~


Contrary to what other people had mentioned. The story isn't about time travel but rather a deviation of it which is the time loop. There have been alot of movies that have used this as their plot device Bruce Willis was in two which are 12 Monkeys and Looper and then my one of my favorite movies, Groundhog Day which starred Bill Murray.

Anyway.

To be honest, I was expecting a typical Tom Cruise film of action and romance. Almost always we get the same treatment from his movies...except the one (Collateral) where he plays a bad guy opposite Jamie Foxx. This film was no different. It had Cruise, it had action, it had Cruise running, it had Cruise grinning like an idiot.  It was fun to see Cruise's character trying not to die for each loop he goes back to and on how he tries to convince everyone else that the day already happened and it's not going to end well.

The surprise for me was Emily Blunt. She isn't really an action star. In this movie however, she held her own. She really looked good moving, jumping about killing Mimics left and right. I think she has a future being an action star.  And did I mention she was pretty hot?


Yeap, she is pretty hot.


The story was really something old and new at the same time. Time loops have been used before in many movies but it wasn't prolly used like they used it in Edge of Tomorrow. Add in an alien invasion and uber cool technology in the mix then I guess it is something fresh for movie-goers to see.

The Mimics were actually done well. They really looked like something out of this world and very menacing. They move like a small ball of thorns and have lighting quick reflexes and when they die, the light goes out from them and they just sort of freeze up.

The "Jackets" that they used in the movie looked like the ones they used in The Matrix albeit a more "compact" version. Its weird how even with jackets making them a one man army killing machine, they still cant totally fend off the Mimics. Anyway, seeing the jackets in action was prolly the best times of the movie. Bonus fact: they are in process of making actual combat exo suits at the moment.


An example of a "Jacket".....and another excuse to post a pic of Emily Blunt.


All in all, Edge of Tomorrow is a good action movie. It has good actors, it has a good story and has some good action. It has some humor in it too so that's a bonus. However, they do have some plot holes that makes you question a few stuff in the movie. I won't spoil/tell you though. You have to watch it for yourself. 

No comments:

Post a Comment